GIWA estimates 2022 harvest to be 23.96mt

The current estimate is sitting at 23.96mt, just under the 2021 milestone, however with very cool and mild conditions in spring, continuing right up until now, it has fueled the extra tonnes which will likely see this harvest exceed last year's production.

The only downside to those mild conditions is that it led to a later than normal start to harvest which has been frustrating for some growers.

That start has been further slowed by rainfall in the central and southern half of the State over the past few weeks which has now begun to cause trouble with lodging, head loss and expected downgrades in quality if the rain persists.

Grain loss from hail across those same regions has also started to add up and while significant for individual growers, is not expected to impact the total tonnage of grain produced in WA.

Crop report author Michael Lamond said very little crop had been harvested to date across WA for this time of the year.

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However, he said what had been harvested has exceeded expectations by several hundred kilograms per hectare in nearly all cases for canola and wheat.

"If this continues as harvest marches south, total grain production for WA will exceed the record 24mt produced in 2021 by a fair margin," Mr Lamond said.

Canola is an absolute standout across the State, mostly due to the good early start and slow finish.

With likely production set to nudge 4mt, the growing of canola has matured to now be a significant part of the WA farming system from the small start it had about 30 years ago.

"The sophistication in growing the crop has accelerated in recent years as improvements in agronomy have narrowed the gap between the yields growers are actually getting, compared to maximum potential yields," Mr Lamond said.

"This was not the case until recently, but has now resulted in more consistent and improved grain yields."

Lupin crops are also exceptional across the State and the small areas of barley and wheat harvested to date are also exceptional, particularly in the low rainfall regions where for many it will be the best year for some time.

Geraldton

Growers in the zone are well into canola harvest with crops yielding 200 to 400 kilograms per hectare more than last year and plenty of paddock averages are greater than 2.2t/ha.

Canola oil percentages have been mostly in the high 40s, whereas oil percentages in the rest of WA have been quite variable.

So far, lupins have also been exceptional with yields well above average.

Mr Lamond said average wheat yields across the region were expected to be similar to 2021.

"Whilst the later crops look better than 2021, the early sown wheat crops suffered irreversible top end potential from the tough start," he said.

"In the low rainfall eastern regions and areas where the wheat went in early, the grain protein shoots up as soon as the yield dips below 2t/ha with some loads going H2."

Kwinana North Midlands

Growers are harvesting canola across all parts of the zone, with the better areas going 2-3t/ha and oils back a bit from last year, mostly in the range of 43-45 per cent.

Overall canola grain yields look to be better than last year and while hail in some spots has totalled the canola, cereals have been mostly unaffected.

Mr Lamond said some small areas of barley had been taken off in the eastern regions, but little wheat had been harvested to date.

"Harvesting has been slow going with cool temperatures overnight and damp mornings," he said.

"Lots of mice are being noticed under barley swaths that are still too wet to pick up with the header.

"There also looks to be some discoloration in wheat from the aftermath of uncontrolled powdery mildew which will likely result in fungal stained grain."

Kwinana South

Small areas of canola have been harvested to date, however the rain last week did hold up most growers.

The canola harvested so far has been in the 2-3t/ha range in the west and a bit less going east in the region.

The late start is not apparent for the western areas as the crops look as good as they have ever been and will come close to the very high yields of 2021 for all crops.

Hail has completely taken out canola in strips, however the total area impacted was small and there was less damage to the cereals as most were still a little green.

Kwinana North East

The region is well on track to have one of the best harvests in a while.

The areas of canola that have been harvested are in the 1.5t/ha range with some going more than 2.0t/ha.

"Unfortunately, for those that have been hit by the hail in the last few days, insurance estimates will probably be way too low," Mr Lamond said.

"On the plus side, cereals are very good and the lack of frost and heat stress is going to result in a lot of grain for the whole of the low rainfall regions."

Albany West

Most growers are just starting on their canola with grain yields being very good as was expected.

The small areas harvested have indicated well above average grain yields to come for most growers.

Cereals also look good and overall the region is in for another very good harvest.

Albany South

Showers between 100 to 150 millimetres over a two-week period has resulted in serious trafficability issues, crops standing in water and quite a bit of lodging, which is going to slow down harvest further.

Canola yields are in the 1-3t/ha range and are generally up by around 1t/ha on 2021 yields.

However, with most being around the 2t/ha range, yields are not quite as good as were expected.

Mr Lamond said the hybrid varieties were a standout in the region.

"Oil is down a bit from previous years and hail has also taken out strips of canola in paddocks," he said.

"Budworm in the canola caused some damage near the end and diamondback moth has damaged the early planted winter canola."

The persistent rain has now impacted potential tonnage production for the region with some crops swimming in waterlogged paddocks, others lodging from the crown, and others broken at the stems from hail damage.

Albany East (Lakes region)

The region for 2022 has had a dream run and this continued over the past month with very mild temperatures assisting in slow grain fill.

While the rain at the beginning of the month slowed down the start of harvest, it has not caused too much damage to canola or barley crops and may have even benefited some of the later wheat crops which were still in the later stages of grain fill.

Luckily, the recent hail storms which caused havoc to the north petered out before they could do any significant damage.

Mr Lamond said very little harvesting had occurred to date.

"However, the signs are positive as canola paddocks harvested are going between 1.8-2.2t/ha with very good oil percentages of between 46-50pc," he said.

"If this keeps up, canola tonnage will be up on last year and cereals are expected to be similar to 2021, which was a record year for the region."

Esperance

Rain over the past few weeks has started to become annoying for many, with some growers in the northern regions of the zone having had up to 120mm recently causing them to stop operations due to risk of getting bogged in paddocks.

It has reminded more experienced growers of how it used to be with intermittent rain, moist onshore air-flow and rapid swings in temperature.

Canola harvesting is about half completed, although some in the wetter areas are just getting started.

"Canola yields are good, with crops in the northern drier regions going 1.2t/ha where they had looked to be 1t/ha crops," Mr Lamond said.

"Further south, many paddocks are averaging 2t/ha and some up around 2.5t/ha.

"Oil percentages have not been great, mostly in the low 40s range."

Some growers have found areas of frosted canola which have taken the top of grain yields in places and it remains to be seen what impact frost has had on wheat.

Cereals are starting to fall over and, in some cases, depending on the variety, this has already been quite bad.

Some of the early-maturing wheat varieties are also already starting to sprout and it is likely both the wheat and barley will be stained if the rain continues.